- Title: Virginia students look for answers in Vice Presidential debate
- Date: 3rd October 2016
- Summary: FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) WIDE OF DEBATE HALL SHOT OF CHAIRS, PAN TO STAGE SHOT OF MODERATOR'S CHAIR WIDE OF STAGE SHOT OF TIMER CAMERA CREWS AT DEBATE HALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) MATT MCWILLIAMS, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "So, from the very beginning what we really wanted to do was figure out how we could really engage our students in the debate. So, beyond just the intense media coverage that's going to happen for the next two days, we really have integrated the debate themes into our classroom and into our infrastructure and everything that we've been doing here on campus, so our students are really engaged in the process." SHOT OF EXTERIOR OF DEBATE HALL SHOT OF DEBATE POSTERS, PULL OUT TO CAMERA CREWS ON RISERS MORE OF CAMERA CREWS (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRYAN AUSTIN GEE, SOPHOMORE, LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "Well, the most pressing issue that matters to me personally is the race issue. We have something going on in our own country which is very unfortunate. How people view us, black people, I am talking about, is something that needs to be acknowledged a little more closely. And I want to see what the vice presidents have to say about this issue." (SOUNDBITE) (English) RACHEL LOVE, SENIOR, LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "I am looking forward to them focusing more on college age or like people just beginning to vote. A lot of people don't focus on us too much. It's more of the older population because they don't think that we vote. When in reality we aren't just talked about enough. And there's a lot of concerns like tuition and stuff like that that we want answered, and it's getting to be expensive and we just want answers." (SOUNDBITE) (English) TERESA FRUCHTERMAN, JUNIOR, LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "Honestly, I watched the presidential debate and I wasn't too impressed with either candidate. And it's such a tight race that the vice president debate is so important for me to really get a deciding factor in our political life - like, who's going to be our president and vice president? It's such an important factor. So, I'm looking for the vice presidential debate to kind of separate the two candidates between what really matters rather than focusing on, you know, arguments or who's lied and cheated or whatever. I just want to get the straight facts about, you know, who is going to create jobs, who's going to lower taxes? You know, what. Anything that America really needs. I want all that." SHOT OF SATELLITE TRUCKS VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
- Embargoed: 18th October 2016 22:15
- Keywords: Debate Vice President Longwood Pence Kaine Virginia
- Location: FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
- City: FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00152GD0LJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As vice presidential nominees, Senator Tim Kaine and Indiana governor Mike Pence, prepare to debate on Tuesday (October 4), the spotlight is on the university that will host the vice presidential face off.
Officials at Longwood University, home to 5,000 students, say the university has been preparing to host the debate since all of last year and is ready to step on to center stage.
As camera crews and satellite trucks descend on the small university in Farmville, Virginia, school officials hope that hosting the debate will encourage their students to be more engaged in the political process overall.
"Beyond just the intense media coverage that's going to happen for the next two days, we really have integrated the debate themes into our classroom and into our infrastructure and everything that we've been doing here on campus. So our students are really engaged in that," Longwood's communication director Matt McWilliams told Reuters.
Students on campus said they will be listening closely to what both nominees have to say on issues such as jobs, tuition fees and race relations.
"Honestly, I watched the presidential debate and I wasn't too impressed with either candidate. And it's such a tight race that the vice presidential debate is so important for me to really get a deciding factor in our political life," said Teresa Fruchterman, a junior. "I just want to get the straight facts about, you know, who is going to create jobs? Who's going to lower taxes... Anything that America really needs. I want all that," she said.
Sophomore Bryan Gee, an African American said the most pressing issue for him was race relations in the U.S..
"We have something going on in our own country which is very unfortunate. How people view us, black people, I am talking about, is something that needs to be acknowledged more closely and I want to see what the vice presidents have to say about this issue," said Gee.
This is the first and only vice presidential debate as Senator Tim Kaine and Indiana governor Mike Pence get ready to face each other.
Kaine's running mate and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has a 5 percentage point lead over Republican Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday (September 30), roughly the same advantage she has held all month.
However, the race has tightened in a number of traditional battleground states, though Clinton remained the favorite to win the White House, according to a more recent latest Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project poll released on Monday.
The project, which uses a national online opinion poll of more than 15,000 people, showed that, as of Thursday, Clinton and Trump were running nearly even in support in Florida and Ohio: states where she had held an advantage. Arizona, where Trump had held an advantage, was also considered a toss-up.
Meanwhile, Maine, Oregon and Pennsylvania were considered states that Clinton would likely win. They had previously been considered toss-ups. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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